Return
by NeuroticSquirrel
Summary: In Return to the Labyrinth, Toby finds his way into the labyrinth on his own. But where is Sarah?
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: This was inspired by the new TokyoPop manga, _Return to the Labyrinth_. I didn't really care for it, but I thought the portrayal of Sarah was interesting. Anyway, _Return to the Labyrinth_ focuses on Toby, now a high school student. Jareth decides that he's quitting as Goblin King and gives Toby the reigns. I've only read volume 1 and might not read any of the rest.**

**Prologue **

Sarah was having a strange day.

She stood in her office. The small room was covered with books, mostly texts appropriate to a professor, but also dime store novels of magic and fantasy and children's books filled with unicorns, fairies, and handsome princes. Pictures decorated the walls, images of plays past with Sarah standing proud and tall, radiant on the stage. She had adored the stage and participated in numerous plays throughout her many college years – even the stress of getting the PhD had not been enough to stop her from acting.

But now, strange things were happening. She kept finding things not where she placed them, or knocked over or moved. When she thought she heard something or saw something in the corner of her eye, she would turn and nothing would be there. It reminded her of… But no. It couldn't be, not after all these years. Sarah was an adult now. She looked at herself in the mirror, a woman with thick glasses and a hack job hair-cut stared back at her. She wasn't the same girl anymore. She hadn't even spoken to her old friends for a while.

She jumped when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

It was Toby. Typical teenager stuff – he had an essay to write and he wanted help. She rolled her eyes. He probably hadn't even started yet.

"That's nice Toby." Did she see something again? No, now she was just getting paranoid. She had to stop getting so distracted. She had papers to grade. "Look I don't really have time for this right now."

Toby was upset. This was important. Sure. She remembered everything being important then. She whirled suddenly. There was nothing. She looked about the room suspiciously.

"Look, you're in high school. You can take care of it yourself."

Sarah felt bad for blowing him off, but she was too wired to deal with a high school history paper right now. She had been having a bad feeling all week.

Something big was going to happen soon.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Thanks to Lady Galriee, Labyrinth Mistress, and crystal13moon! You three are the fastest reviewers ever! Y'all inspired me to write another little chapter and post it tonight. Thanks for reviewing!  
This story is very different from my usual fare. It doesn't have a drop of slash. Amazing, no?

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**Chapter 1**

Sarah gave up on grading papers fairly quickly. Calling it a night, she hurried home to her little apartment and made herself a dinner. Idly, she flipped through the channels on her fuzzy television. She wondered how Toby was doing on his paper. She wondered what he ate that night. She wondered if he remembered how to do a bibliography correctly. Did he even know the proper way to format a paper? Did he-?

Screw it. She wasn't getting any sleep tonight worrying about it. It was pretty late, but she knew he would still be up. She got up scooped some leftovers off the stove into a container. At the very least, she could feed him and proofread his paper. He'd better have something for her to proofread by now.

She let herself into the old house. Her father had given her a key, much to Irene's displeasure. It was one of the few things he actually wouldn't budge on.

Her sneakers made no sound as she went up the stairs and knocked on Toby's door.

"Toby? It's me, Sarah."

There was no answer. Sarah frowned. There was light streaming from under the door. The rest of the house was dark, her father and Irene asleep long ago.

"Toby?"

She opened the door, the bag of food still in her hand. There was no one there. The computer was dark - its cord lay on the floor, unplugged. The printer lay on the ground and the closet door was ajar. She could hear something from inside.

"Toby?"

She approached the closet with trepidation. The noises continued. It sounded like…

She opened the door and peered inside.

Two goblins froze and looked at her, each holding a shoe aloft as if to throw it. They had obviously been fighting and shoes and clothes were scattered all over the closet floor.

"It's her!" One of them screeched.

"Run!" screeched the other.

They both dropped the shoes and ran… straight into each other.

"Where's my brother?" demanded Sarah, but they paid her no heed. They picked themselves up off the floor and, continuing to screech all the while, ran, pushing and shoving at each other, to a little door in the back of the closet that she had never seen before.

"Stop!"

She reached for them, but they were too quick, running through the door and slamming it shut, just as she grabbed for a corner. She scrabbled at the wall, trying desperately to open it again, but it was no use. It was as if there had never been a door there at all.

She sat back on her haunches and tried not to cry in frustration. She was an adult now. She was an adult now. She was an adult now and it was happening _again_.

"Oh God… not again… Toby."

She took a few deep shuddering breaths to steady herself and quickly moved to her old room. Most of her old things were gone, but her dresser and mirror remained. She sat in front of it and wiped at her eyes, opening the dresser drawer. The old red book lay where she left it all those years ago. She touched its rough cover, thinking of her dear old friends who she hadn't spoken to in so long. She knew what she had to do.

Looking straight into the mirror, she said clearly and determinedly, "I need you."

**TBC...**

Sorry it's so short. That's just the way the chapters for this fic are going to be. What do you think? Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

There was only silence. Sarah repeated firmly, "I need you."

But there was no one there.

It used to be she barely had to start the words and all of them would be there with her, filling her bedroom with their cheer and their noise (that strangely enough, Irene never seemed to hear). But she had drifted away from them, made friends and ties in the real world, discovered a whole new and exciting life for herself… She had grown up.

She blinked away tears of frustration and touched the mirror.

"I need you," she said desperately. "I really and truly need you this time."

No one came. She closed her eyes. So that was it. She had left them so they left her. How could she have done this? How would she get to Toby? He must be so scared…

"Hello my dear."

Where would he be now? Why would Jareth take him now?

"Dearie, do you hear me?"

Dearie?

She looked up and there, in the mirror, stood the old junk lady.

"I imagine they couldn't hear you my dear." She stretched out the words "my dear" in a crooning voice cuttingly sweet. "They're at a loud _ball_ right now in the castle, yes they are. Hasn't been one in years and _years_ now, hmmm."

She disappeared from the mirror and Sarah jumped when her voice came from behind her.

"Don't feel too badly my dear. Here, isn't this a _nice_ little teddy bear, hmmm?"

Sarah accepted the old bear wordlessly and set it on the dresser, not terribly interested in the lady's commentary on her possessions.

"They're at a ball?"

"Oh, _of course_ my dear. _Everyone_ is at the ball."

She cackled.

"Why aren't you at the ball?" asked Sarah.

"Oh they wouldn't have had _room_ for me my dear. There's _a lot_ of people in the castle today, don't you know? I couldn't very well leave _all_ my precious things behind now, hmmmm?"

"Oh."

The old woman hobbled through the room, her back even more loaded down than the last time Sarah had seen her, and paused to exclaim over Sarah's old toy chest.

"I need to get back into the Goblin City. I'm looking for my brother."

"Oh _him_. I imagine he's at the ball too my dear," said the junk lady, poking around in the chest with delight.

"Why would my brother be there?" Sarah demanded.

"Because _everyone's_ there my dear," replied the junk lady distractedly as she dug through the chest.

"Please… can you help me get there?"

"Aren't you the one with the power my dear? You can go there now."

Sarah frowned. "Power? I don't understand. What power?"

The woman cackled.

"My dear, you have the power to bring _our king_ to his knees. He has _no_ power over you, hmmm? Your kingdom is _as great_, hmmm?"

"But-"

"Just _wish_ it my dear. _Wish_. Didn't you know you can travel as you please, hmmm?"

"Wish?" Sarah murmured. She turned back to the mirror. "Wish?"

She closed her eyes.

_Wish_.

Just as Sarah spoke the words that took her back to the place she had successfully escaped from so long ago, another spoke the words that freed him from the same world and tied it to an unwilling other. In the same instant she appeared suddenly on the castle steps, clad in shimmering silk and lace, he reappeared in a different world, standing outside a familiar apartment building under a streetlight, smiling up into a darkened window, before turning and walking down the street, his steps light and hopeful.

Chance can be so cruel.

TBC

xxx

Well, what do you think? I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. This is the second version of it. I was originally going to have Sir Dydimus answer her call, but I decided things shouldn't be too easy for her so I rewrote the whole thing. Sorry Lady Galriee! I wrote this at 3AM - spot the typos and I'll send you a virtual hug!

Thanks to the last chapter's reviewers, Lady Galriee, Labyrinth Mistress (at the end of the movie, Sarah said "I need you" to the mirror and they all appeared in her bedroom and partied), and FordFugitive (interesting name!).

Please take a moment of your time to click the review button below. Just a word or two would make me so happy.


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